What Laws Are Involved?
A number of laws and regulations are involved as you complete your job descriptions and work with them, says Kennedy, including:
- Fair Labor Standards Act (proper classification as exempt or nonexempt)
- Equal Pay Act of 1963 (comparing job values, pay values, and gender)
- Equal Employment Opportunity (comparing pay levels and protected group status)
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (again, pay levels and protected status)
- Occupational Safety and Health Act (working conditions, work environment—lifting, climbing ladders, etc.)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (delineating the essential functions of the job)
Kennedy is the principal consultant of MAKHR Consulting, LLC, and author of the career coaching book Finding the Right Job; A Step-By-Step Approach. She made her suggestions at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR®.
Vague, Inaccurate Job Descriptions Are Dangerous
Vague, inaccurate, or incomplete job descriptions will trip you up, says Kennedy.
For example, she says, performance appraisals can create problems when the manager gives low marks to someone for something that isn’t on the job description. (“You fired me for something that wasn’t even important enough to be on the job description that lists 10 essential functions but not this one?”)
Your job descriptions are already written and keyed onto CD format. Thousands of HR managers have depended on the print version of this product—now they’re flocking to get SmartJobs on CD! Go here for info.
What Gets Left Out?
What gets left out of the job description? Some of the key items that Kennedy has seen left out of job descriptions include:
- Part-time
- Temporary
- Bilingual Spanish/English
- Keywords for your industry—like HRIS, ADP, ATS
- Mandatory licenses, degrees, professional certification
Leaving key phrases out is a double whammy when recruiting, Kennedy says. First, you’ll attract thousands of unqualified people, and, second, they’ll all leave angry because of the “hidden” qualification.
In fact, one of Kennedy’s clients had a lawsuit in which the applicant claimed that she met all listed qualifications and wasn’t interviewed. The candidate claimed it was because she was in a protected class. It was true that the applicant was superbly qualified to do all the tasks outlined in the job description. Unfortunately, the person was clearly unqualified based on an unmentioned requirement.
A more-specific job description would have helped, Kennedy noted.
Job descriptions are critical for many purposes, yet they are all too easy to back-burner. What’s the state of your job descriptions? Concerned they might not be up to date and ADA-compliant? … Actually, with BLR’s new program, they are.
BLR has now released its collection of 500 job descriptions, formerly available only in the classic, but shelf-filling Job Descriptions Encyclopedia, in a program called SmartJobs® on CD. That’s cause for celebration—your job descriptions are a click away from being done.
And we’re talking about virtually all of them, covering every common position in any organization, from receptionist right up to president. They are all there in BLR’s SmartJobs.
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These are descriptions you can depend on. Our collection has been constantly refined and updated over time, with descriptions revised or added each time the law, technology, or the way business is done changes.
Revised for the ADA, Pay Grades Added
BLR editors have taken apart every one of the 700 descriptions and reassembled them to be ADA-compliant. And now they’ve added pay grades for each job, based on BLR’s annual surveys of exempt and nonexempt compensation, as well as other data.
According to our customers, this is an enormous timesaver, enabling them to make compensation decisions even as they define the position.
SmartJobs also includes an extensive tutorial on setting up a complete job descriptions program, as well as how to encourage participation from all parts of the organization. That includes top management, employees, and any union or other collective-bargaining entity.
Twice-Yearly Updates, No Additional Cost
Very important these days are the updates included in the program as a standard feature—essential at a time of constantly changing laws and yes, emerging technologies. And the cost of the program is extremely reasonable, averaging less than 66 cents per job description … already written, legally reviewed, and ready to adapt or use as-is.
You can evaluate BLR’s SmartJobs at no cost in your office for up to 30 days. Just click here and we’ll be delighted to send it to you.